Chapter 6 Summary

When June was young, her mother's presence was less than helpful and nurturing due to her drinking. On one particular morning, June wakes herself at dawn, feeds herself burnt crumbs from the oven and walks on her own to the school bus. When she arrives home, her mother, Lucille Lazarre, is in a bad mood that seems to be reserved only for June. Lucille tries to show love toward June's brother, Geezhig, and he rejects her. She takes out her anger on June. June retreats to a tree for a few hours before returning to the house, where she sneaks past her mother and goes to sleep on the floor next to Geezhig. Later that night, Geezhig wakes June to tell her to run and hide because Lucille's boyfriend is in the house. It is a usual occurrence for Lucille to get drunk...